


A quest for beauty

by silverbluebranch9298



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Demons, Dragons, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fantasy, Heroes, Magic, Misunderstood characters, Scheming, Swords & Sorcery, Worship, demon king
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 09:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16406072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverbluebranch9298/pseuds/silverbluebranch9298
Summary: Once, the legendary hero Lila walked the earth. Her silver sword stroke fear in the hearts of the most ferocious of beasts, and her long ebony hair fluttering in the wind sent shivers to the cruelest of demons. They sang songs after songs about her courage and kindness, even after a thousand years. The story of her magnificent defeat of the Demon King was the model for generations of heroes.There was one version of the story, however, that guaranteed an imprisonment for any bard who braved to tell it.“Oh, hero Lila,How your heart is filled with love facing the Lord of Evil,How your soul trembles when the King of Demons looks into your eyes,How your hair springs free as you embrace the Enemy of Mankind,Oh, hero Lila,Is it the gold of his hair that bewitches you?Is it the ruby of his eyes that you lost your soul to?Oh, Lila,How only beauty is worthy enough to reside within your heartYou care none for the ugliness that is called humansBut beauty is eternalAnd the Demon King is the most beautiful of all.”





	1. Chapter 1

Lila is extremely unhappy.

For some ridiculous reason (“Go and do something useful” – said her parents as they shut the door), she is currently sitting in this dirty place and drinking a mug of ale covered with cobwebs. Yesterday, per her parents’ instructions, she had arrived at this rundown, overcrowded inn to stay temporarily. The name of the inn is “The Band of Exiles”, which perfectly captures her current situation: dressed in dusty adventure garbs with no more than fifteen silver coins in her pocket and unemployed. Apparently right now she can sit among bandits and not be out of place.

To be frank, she isn’t very sure why her parents threw her out so hastily. In her analysis, she has always been obedient and well-mannered. Of course, that is except for the occasional attempts to venture out in the mountains in the hopes of coming across beautiful landscapes, which usually resulted in being attacked by wild beasts to the point of her parents’ tears drying up because of the expensive healing magic (“But I learn to fight more effectively this way than learning from the bunch of fencing instructors my father found! That’s a quite a side benefit, isn’t it?”). And maybe except for her adoptions of small animals that might have possessed enough destructive power to ruin a few of her mother’s bracelets and necklaces as well (“They were so cute when they saw something shiny!”). And except for…

Okay, perhaps she wasn’t as obedient as she had imagined. However, neither her parents’ wrath nor their scorn will change the path she has chosen to walk in this life.

That is to say, seeking beautiful things.

She loves beauty of any kind – a small flower in the garden, a polished set of cutlery, a glistening drop of dew under sunlight. She also appreciates beautiful people as well – a blossoming maiden touched by spring, a handsome soldier marching proudly, an adorable girl with lively eyes and rosy lips.

(A few of the titles given by Lila’s friends for further references – ‘lolicon’, ‘objectcon’, ‘trisexual’)

If ordinary beauty is nourishment for her eyes, extraordinary beauty is the feast for her soul. This type of beauty is the one she is looking for.

For the quest for beauty, she will do anything.

Unfortunately, her future looks bleak.

This type of inn is the one she would like to avoid the most. The level of beauty of a place is proportionate to her level of happiness – that is, the more beautiful the scene before her is, the happier she feels; the uglier a place, the more painful her heart is. To her north, a group of drunkards are bawling their throats out (hearing is one of the five senses, so beauty can be measured in accordance to this as well – she is not so close-minded as to denounce beauty of any type). To her west, the bartender (if he can be called so) is using a rag similar to a piece of dirt to wipe his hands. Behind her is a thirty-year-old wall with patches of oily moss. The view to her east is a couple doing unspeakable activities with occasional sound effects. She doesn’t even dare to look down at the mug she is holding.

Perhaps she would be wise to fix her gaze at the ceiling instead.

(“Why? Why are my parents so ruthless?”)

In desperation, Lila closed her eyes to avoid contaminating her soul.

“Did you take a look at the missions?”

“There are a few C-rank herb gathering missions that are quite rewarding. *sigh* nowadays even picking herbs is dangerous enough to be ranked C-level.”

This sounds interesting. Lila slightly moves to the left to listen more carefully to the conversation.

“The Demon King is rampant again, after all. Demonic beasts are going crazy, so of course everything nowadays is dangerous.”

“True. Especially when this city is quite close to the border. Rumours have it that even a dragon was sighted in the Crystal Cave. The Guild announced an S-rank reward – five hundred gold coins – for anyone who can slay that thing.”

At this point, the two men start drooling, imagining their valiant selves heroically killing the dragon and showering themselves in gold. (The latter is more important).

Lila is very interested now. The object of her interest, of course, is the Crystal Cave and not the dragon.

“Excuse me, what exactly is the Crystal Cave?”

Upon seeing a seventeen-year-old girl dressed in typical traveling clothes with a radiant smile on her face, the two men exchanged a glance with each other.

“The Crystal Cave is named for the translucent, diamond-like series of rocks within. It is said that the Cave is one of the ten wonders of the world, and its beauty surpasses any palace built by men. However, there’s a dragon guarding its entrance now.”

Too bad – Lila has already started walking out of the inn upon the word “beauty”.

The two men exchanges another glance.

“Did she even hear the dragon part?” said one of them.

“Probably not,” replied the other with his face twitching.

Thus begins the journey of one of the mightiest heroes on the earth.


	2. Slaying a mighty dragon

_“The hero Lila valiantly challenged the mighty dragon, and with one strike of her silver sword, sent the beast to repent in hell.” – Chronicle of Hero Lila_

 

Contrary to their belief, Lila did hear the dragon part.

(“I love beauty, but I need my life intact to appreciate it”)

Despite various risks involved, this mission is perfect. It serves two purposes: going to the Crystal Cave for sightseeing and slaying the dragon to earn some living expenses. (The second one is optional)

Currently, Lila is in the midst of enjoying the scenery. Indeed, the Crystal Cave lives up to its name – rows upon rows of sparkling pieces of rocks lie on each other, the luminous hue casting vibrant shades on the walls. The source of light stemmed from the ceiling, laying upon which are millions of glow worms (the tiny, microscopic, sticky type) of many colours of varying degrees. Above her is a starry sky, and below the dazzling earth.

She can die a happy man now.

“ROARRRRR!!!!!! WHO DARES TO INTRUDE ON MY TERRITORY?”

Heaven has ears, it seems. Not that she is glad of such a thing.

Her mother has always said “A lady should not speak crudely.” Hence, the sentence “Damn. Damn it. DAMN IT!” is spoken mentally in her mind only.

Perhaps an explanation is in order – if Lila had the guts to enter the Crystal Cave, she must have been confident enough in her ability to slay the dragon right?

(“Hell no! I only collected information about the dragon’s habits and purchased some rubbing blackmint leaves to cover my scent. This is called sneaking in a castle to visit the princess/prince and escaping before the king finds out, ehem, I mean, the strategy of choosing the right location of battle (five kilometres away from the dragon) and making a tactical retreat before engaging in war (get the hell out before a certain dragon returns). It’s an effective strategy that has been proven again and again in history.”)

As such, Lila chooses the only logical option. Adrenaline boiling her blood, energy coursing through her veins, she runs. As for what happens afterwards...

 

***Dragon’s POV***

I. Am. Bored. To. Death.

When His Majesty ordered me to guard the treasured Crystal Cave, I was extremely happy. It had been hundreds of years since I went out of the territory to play.

“Your Majesty, what shall I do to the humans who approach me? Shall I burn some of them as warnings? Or use my magic to encircle and play around? Maybe use my claws and leave them a few scars as parting gifts?” I enthusiastically suggested.

“No killing. Just scare them away.” – replied His Majesty.

So here I am, doing my job as a peaceful, harmless guardian and trying my best to prevent the idiotic humans from killing themselves. This is my state of mind when I discover yet another idiot hiding in the cave.

It is truly pleasant to see the human running away instead of charging towards me with the typical ‘waving the sword and yelling annoyingly’ manner. Perhaps I should pursue the human for fun? After all, His Majesty never mentioned anything about not being allowed to play…

Slowly walking towards the end of the tunnel, I add a few “roarrrr” for dramatic purposes. When I have gotten close enough to hear the frantic breathing of the human, I stand still and scratch the ground threateningly. Snarling ferociously and gathering fire elements might have been done deliberately to increase the suspense as well.

To my utmost disappointment, the human stand its ground instead of running past me to whatever hole it crawls from and saving my energy.

The first strike takes me by surprise. It is fast – much faster than a normal human should have been able do. Thankfully, my magic shield is intact.

While I am pondering about this strange occurrence, the human has already ran behind me and attempts to poke me with its tiny stick. I hurriedly turn back, only to see the human striking me from my right side. The human keeps up this style of running and poking until it realizes that it cannot penetrate my shield.

“O Great Dragon, Mighty King of Beasts and Ruler of the Sky, please spare this inconsequential being that dared to challenge you. O Ancient One, please forgive this one’s ignorance.”

I look at the human coldly. Seriously, who do you want to fool?

The human drops its humble cover and stands straight.

“I believe that you don’t want to harm me, or else I would have been dead already. Either that or you want your prey to exercise so that its meat will be leaner. If it’s the first option, may I have your permission to leave? If it’s the second, I am very bony and will not be tasty. Exercising only makes me sweat, which means I will smell horrible.”

I suddenly feel tired. This is the fatal disease that is called “bored to death.”

“Go, and don’t come back.” I dismiss the human wearily. 

The human hesitates for a while, then walks away. However, after a few steps, it stops and turns back to stare at me.

“Do you want to come with me?”

I snort. “If you are going to rescue the princess or crusade against the Demon King or something like that, then I’m not interested.”

The human laughs at that. “I am going to travel the world and seek beautiful things.”

Curiosity rises in me. I have been trapped here with no one but the so-called heroes to talk with. I desperately want to go _somewhere_ , and seeking beautiful things is not bad at all.

“I can’t. My king ordered me to guard this cave.”

The human tilts its head. “If you seal the cave, then no one should be able to get in right? Isn’t that more effective than chasing away every insignificant person who ventures here?”

I stare at the human, no, the girl, in shock. Though this is disobeying my liege lord in spirit, but technically it can work. And the fact that boredom has been gnawing at me for a long time isn’t helpful.

Thus begins my adventure with the hero Lila.

 

Bonus: Lila’s diary

_“XX/XX/XXXX, I obtained a dragon for a comrade. It’s because the dragon was having the same face as me when I was forbidden to go and look for beautiful things, and I was bored enough that I started rampaging throughout the house. For the sake of preserving the beauty of the Crystal Cave, I could only took the dragon away before he destroyed it in his boredom…”_


End file.
